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ANNUAL MEETING 1915

291


pers were read as follows: The Swedes in Nebraska, by Professor Joseph E. Alexis; The Clan Organization of the Winnebago, by Oliver Lamere; The Bohemians in Nebraska, by Professor Sarka. Hrbkova. Miss Naomi Emrich gave the music of the evening.
   Meetings of the board of directors were held March 6, April 10, and October 13. At the last meeting 23 persons were elected members of the Society.

THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING.

   The thirty-seventh annual meeting of the Nebraska State Historical Society was held in Lincoln, January 12, 13, 14, 1915.
   At the first session, in the state senate chamber, at eight o'clock in the evening, January 12, Professor Guernsey Jones read a paper on Early American Portraiture and Allen D. Albert, editor of the Minneapolis Tribune, gave an address on New Forces In American History.
   The business meeting of the Society was held at the Temple Theater, January 13, at two o'clock in the afternoon. Mrs. Andrew J. Sawyer played a number upon a piano brought to Nebraska by Judge Fenner Ferguson, first chief justice of the territory, in the spring of 1855.
   George W. Hansen was reëlected a member of the board of directors and Gurdon W. Wattles was elected a member of the board to succeed Frank L. Haller.
   The officers of the Society were reëlected as follows: John L. Webster, president; Robert Harvey, first vice president; Samuel C. Bassett, second vice president; Clarence S. Paine, secretary; Dr. P. L. Hall, treasurer.
   Amendments of articles III, V, and VI of the constitution, creating the office of superintendent, were presented.



292

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY


   President Webster then delivered an address.

   Andrew J. Sawyer, for the committee on obituaries, reported that 13 members of the Society had died during the year 1914, as follows:

   Dr. Porter C. Johnson, Tecumseh, January 20; Mrs. Elvira Gaston Platt, Oberlin, Ohio, January 25; Robert L. Smith, Lincoln, January 30; 1ra H. Hatfield, Lincoln, February 8; William W. W. Jones, Denver Colorado, March 10; George W. Martin, Topeka, Kansas, March 27; Dr. Samuel W. McGrew, South Auburn, April 1; Ancil L. Funk, Lincoln, April 23; Judge Isham. Reavis, Falls City, May 8; James Crawford, Wymore, May 19; George D. Follmer, Oak, May 29; Joseph J. Hawthorne, Fremont, July 24; Ellis T. Hartley, Lincoln, October 8.

   Thirty-nine persons were elected members of the Society.
   The following statement of the receipts and disbursements of the Society for the year 1914, audited by the Wiggins-Babcock Company, accountants, was presented:

CURRENT RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES, 1914.

Balance from Dec. 31, 1913

Dr. P. L. Hall, treasurer,

   General fund

$169.79

   Crounse fund

5.53

C. S. Paine, secretary,

   General fund

33.00

   Contingent fund

100.00

--------

Total cash fund

$308.32

   Balances 1913 appropriations,

   Current expenses

$5,397.72

   Regular salaries

7,400.00

   Janitor's salary

327.15

   Curator's traveling exp

173.40

----------

      Total appropriations

$13,298.27

----------

         Total

$13,606.59



FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 1914

293

Receipts, 1914.

Membership fees

$326.00

Sale of books

6.25

Ground rentals

326.85

Rebate on overcharge print-

   ing vol. 3 constitution

174.73

Badges

6.00

--------

   Total cash receipts

$839.83

----------

Total for which to account.

$14,446.42

Expenses, 1914.

Salaries

$6,684.90

Postage

347.30

Express

21.18

Traveling expenses

277.14

Extra labor

473.80

Books purchased

61.81

Printing

2,000.00

Binding newspapers

461.90

Binding books

34.35

Advertising

4.05

Photography

94.14

Stationery and office supplies

196.74

Annual and board meetings

83.15

Furniture and fixtures

106.19

Miscellaneous expenses

126.75

Paving tax

197.70

Maintenance of grounds and

   buildings

108.95

Badges

50.00

---------

   Total expenses

$11,500.23

-----------

Balance consisting of

$2,946.19

   Cash in hands of treasurer,

      General fund

$97.85

      Crounse fund

5.53

   Cash in hands of secretary,

      Contingent fund

100.00

--------

      Total cash

$203.38



294

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Appropriations 1913 unexpended

Balances,

   Current expenses

$1,175.60

   Regular salaries

1,480.02

   Janitor's salary

87.15

   Curator's traveling exp.

.04

Total appropriations available

$2,742.81

---------

Total cash and appropriations

$ 2,946.19


   The last session was held at eight o'clock in the evening, January 13. The program consisted of a song, Sons of Ye Olden Time, by the University male quartette; a paper, The Eighteenth Infantry, by John P. Sutton; a paper, Nebraska National Guard During a Strike, by Professor A. A. Reed; a paper, Early Days in Norfolk, by Mrs. Cora A. Beels; and a vocal solo by Mrs. A. S. Raymond.
   A conference of local historical societies and old settlers associations was held January 14, at ten o'clock in the morning.
   A meeting of the Nebraska Memorial Association was held at half past two o'clock in the afternoon, and at half past six o'clock in the evening there was a banquet at the Lincoln Hotel.
   Meetings of the board of directors were held January 12, 1915; May 3, 1915; May 19, 1915; and November 181 1915. At the meeting of May 3 President Webster urged that the Society take immediate steps toward a proper celebration of the semicentennial of the admission of Nebraska As a state, and. a committee of one hundred citizens of the state was appointed by the president to make arrangements for such celebration. Fifty-four persons were elected members of the Society.
   At the meeting of November 18, the resignation of Melvin R. Gilmore, curator of the Society, was accepted



ANNUAL MEETING 1916

295


Dr. Gilmore had been chosen curator of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Thirty-eight persons were elected members of the Society.

THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING.

   The thirty-eighth annual meeting of the Nebraska State Historical Society was held at Lincoln, January 17, 18, 19, 1916. Some members assembled at the rooms of the Society at half past one o'clock in the afternoon, January 11, but no quorum being present the meeting adjourned until half past two o'clock in the afternoon, January 18. At a preliminary meeting, held in the Temple Theater at eight o'clock in the evening, January 17, papers were read as follows: The Last Buffalo Hunt of the Pawnee Indians in Nebraska, by John W. Williamson, of Genoa; The Omaha Indians in Peace and War, by Alfred Blackbird, of Macy; The Oto Indians, Their Language and Customs, by Major Albert L. Green, Beatrice; Native Animals Known to the Omaha Indians, Melvin R. Gilmore, curator of the Society.
   At a conference of local historical societies and old settlers associations, in the forenoon of January 18, the project of celebrating the semicentennial of the admission of Nebraska as a state was discussed by Herbert M. Bushnell, Andrew J. Sawyer, Robert B. Windham, Samuel C. Bassett, Jefferson H. Broady, Jr., Charles H. Frady, George W. Hansen, Rev. George R. McKeith, Thomas Wolfe, and Louis A. Bates.
   The annual business meeting was held at half past two o'clock in the afternoon, January 18, in the Temple Theater. The secretary gave in his report a list of twenty-five citizens of the state who had offered to give $1,205 toward the erection of a temporary building for the use



296

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY


of the Society. The secretary reviewed steps which had been taken in preparation for the semicentennial celebration.
   During the year there had been accessioned 2,000 titles, 215 manuscripts, 445 photographs, and more than 5000 newspaper clippings. The Society was then receiving 462 weekly papers and 29 dailies. Forty-six volumes of Omaha and Lincoln papers had been bound, and 28 volumes of dailies and 334 volumes of weeklies were ready for binding.
   Among gifts made to the library during the year, an atlas of 1820 and another of 1858, received from Mr. W. A. Wolfe, of Beatrice, were mentioned.
   Officers and members of the board of directors were elected as follows: John L. Webster, president; Robert Harvey, first vice president; Samuel C. Bassett, second vice president; Clarence S. Paine, secretary; Dr. Philip L. Hall, treasurer; Bishop J. Henry Tihen and Dr. Hamilton B. Lowry, directors.
   Amendments of articles III, V, and VI of the constitution, which had been presented at the meeting of 1915 were adopted.
   Amendments of the by-laws, conforming them to the amended articles of the constitution, were adopted.
   Andrew J. Sawyer, for the committee on obituaries, reported deaths of members for the year ending December 31, 1915, as follows:

   Rev. Luther P. Ludden, Lincoln, January 7; Henry W. Yates, Omaha, January 9; Evan T. Roberts, Lincoln, January 24; Irving J. Mannatt, Providence, Rhode Island, February 13; Charles E. Bessey, Lincoln, February 25; James B. McGrew, Bloomington, March 14; Nehemiah S. Harding, Nebraska City, March 30; Alonzo B. Minor, Lincoln, April 19; Mrs. Ella K. Morrison, Lincoln, June 9; Allen W. Field, Lincoln, June 9; Martin Langdon, Omaha, June 17; Alfred C. Kennedy, Omaha, July 1; Mathew B. Cheney, Lincoln, July 5; Francis W. Brown,



FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 1915

297


Lincoln, July 7; William W. Wood, Alliance, July 22; Herbert C. Probasco, Lincoln, August 5; Albert W. Crites, Chadron, August 23; Addison S. Tibbets, Lincoln, September 25; John B. Dinsmore, Lincoln, October 6; Church Howe, Auburn, October 7; John J. Bean, Lincoln, December 18; Victor B. Caldwell, Omaha, December 26.

   The report included Dr. Charles F. Stewart, South Auburn, died May 14, 1912; and Shadrach Doty, Grafton, July 28, 1912.
   Forty-two persons were elected members of the Society.
   The following financial statement, audited from the accounts of the Society by the Wiggins-Babcock Company, was presented by the secretary:

CURRENT RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES, 1915.

Balance from December 31, 1914

   Dr. P. L. Hall, treasurer,

      General fund

$97.85

      Crounse fund

5.53

   C. S. Paine, secretary,

      Contingent fund

100.00

-------

   Total cash fund

$203.38

Balance 1913 appropriations:

   Current expenses

$1,175.60

   Regular salaries

1,480.02

   Janitor's salary

87.15

   Curator's traveling exp

.04

---------

   Total 1913 appropriations available

$2,742.81

Total available funds at be-

   ginning of the year

$2,946.19

Receipts, 1915.

1915 appropriations:

   Incidentals, etc

$3,800.00

   Regular salaries

13,040.00

   Traveling expenses

450.00

   Extra office help

250.00



298

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

   Paving tax

400.00

   Printing proceedings and

      collections

2,000.00

   Janitor's salary

500.00

Total 1915 appropriations

   available April 1, 1915

$20,440.00

      Membership fees

$433.00

      Sale of books

37.12

      Miscellaneous receipts

296.00

      Building fund

26.00

----------

   Total cash receipts

$792.12

----------

Total 1915 appropriations and

cash receipts

$21,232.12

----------

Total for which to account

$24,178.31

Expenses, 1915.

Salaries

$7,068.23

Postage

295.00

Express

13.67

Freight and drayage

24.17

Telephone and telegraph

90.13

Traveling expenses

331.47

Extra labor

428.00

Books purchased

117.83

Printing

314.25

Binding newspapers

93.70

Binding books

38.15

Advertising

44.02

Photography

240,11

Stationery and office supplies

220.53

Annual and board meetings

76.74

Furniture and fixtures

66.55

Miscellaneous expenses

149.13

Paving tax

188.79

Maintenance buildings and grounds

66.94

Museum collection

50.00

Badges

23.50

----------

   Total expenses

$9,940.91

Lapsed appropriations 1913:

Current expenses

$14.43



FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 1915

299

   Regular salaries

.03

   Janitor's salary

.15

   Curator's traveling exp

.04

-----

   Total appropriations lapsed

$14.65

Total of expenses and lapsed

-------

   appropriations

$9,955.56

---------

$14,222.75

   General fund

$11.22

Balance consisting of

   Cash in hands of treasurer:

      Crounse fund

5.53

      Building fund

26.00

   Cash in hands of secretary:

      General fund

27.00

      Contingent fund

100.00

-------

   Total cash

$169.75

Appropriations, 1915, balances:

   Incidentals, etc .

$2,949.97

   Regular salaries

8,150.02

   Traveling expenses

234.30

   Extra office help

187.50

   Paving tax

211.21

   Printing proceedings and

      collections

2,000.00

   Janitor's salary

320.00

---------

   Total appropriations available

$14,053.00

----------

Total cash and appropriations

$14,222.75

   The treasurer's accounts show receipts for the year amounting to $768.62. Of this sum $168 is credited to annual membership dues, $258 to membership fees, and $5 on life membership account.
   Robert Harvey, for the committee on historic sites, reported on the erection of a large number of markers and monuments. It is the intention of the Society to pub-



300

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY


lish, at some future time, a more extended account of that enterprise than can be given in this volume.
   At a meeting of the board of directors held at the rooms of the Society March 23, 1916, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the salary of the superintendent was increased from $1,800 to $2,000; George R. Fox, of Appleton, Wisconsin, was chosen as curator of the museum at a salary of $100 per month; and the other members of the office force were retained for the coming year without change of terms or condition.
   Fifteen persons were elected sustaining members of the Society. Dr. Antonio Carlos Simeons da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was elected a corresponding member.
   At a meeting of the board of directors held at the rooms of the Society, June 24, 1916, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the resignation of Mrs. Minnie P. Knotts, librarian. of the Society, was received and accepted. Thereupon Mrs. Knotts was elected secretary of the Society to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Clarence S. Paine, to serve until the regular quarterly meeting of the board to be held October 10, 1916.
   Clara A. Paine was elected librarian to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mrs. Knotts and to serve until the quarterly meeting of the board of directors to be held October 10.
   It was moved and seconded that the office of superintendent of the Society be left vacant until the October meeting.
   The following resolution offered by Samuel C. Bassett was adopted:

   Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the president and that the chancellor of the University be requested to appoint a like committee, to confer upon the advisability of coöperation on the part of the State Historical Society and



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